Thursday, April 22, 2010

Guild Luncheon

Dr. Gordon Cohen

Today was the annual Seattle Children's Hospital Guild Association Luncheon at the Westin Hotel. It was a wonderful event, and this was my first year attending. Friends & family (guild members) came from Poulsbo, Bainbridge, Arlington and Seattle to support our guild and the event.
Thank you all!

One of the highlights, for me, was hearing Dr. Gordon Cohen (pictured above), who performed the cardiac part of Katie's life-saving surgery. Dr. Cohen is a genius and a warm and kind human being.
I love him.
He is the surgeon who took the tumor out of Katie's heart, and gave her sub-cutaneous (under the skin) stitches, so the scarring was minimal on her chest. That meant that she could wear a bathing suit or t-shirt with very little evidence that she had had major surgery. To a 12 year-old girl, that has meaning.
Dr. Cohen is making wonderful changes and progress for children with heart issues right here in our Pacific Northwest.

Paul & me

We were seated with Aileen Kelly, the creative, energetic, thoughtful and encouraging executive director of the Guild Association, two lovely board members, and Paul (Mooselips) Dudley, the Master of Ceremonies (maybe we got to sit with Paul because his wife is a member of our guild). It was a great table:
Julie, Denise & Heidi (Mrs. Mooselips)
Mom, Linda (my sister-in-law, and our guild's treasurer) & me

We shopped at the booths of other guilds and bought some things they were selling (a fleece vest for me and raffle tickets for mom). We heard inspiring stories of fundraising success, fellowship, innovation and progress. We heard about medical advances that need and deserve to be funded.
I am so excited by what I heard, and grateful for Seattle Children's Hospital, its dedicated staff and their love for our kids!

Guild Association Facts from Fiscal Year 2009
Number of Guilds: 500
New Guilds Formed: 15 (we're one of these!)
Project Revenue (net): $10,200,000
Number of Volunteer Hours: 140,000
Guild affiliated revenue in Foundation Programs: $5,500,000
Total Guild Association contributions: $15,700,000


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